Armchair Quarterback Tuesday…
We are two weeks into the NFL season and three teams appear to be the class of the NFL: the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons, 2-0 Houston Texans, and 2-0 San Francisco 49ers.
On Sunday afternoon, the Houston Texans moved their record to 2-0 with a 27-7 drubbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Houston has yet to face a challenge in their AFC foes, quarterback Matt Schaub quietly looks to have not missed a beat in his return from an injury-shortened 2011 season. The Texans have dominated their opponents on the defensive side of the ball, as the Texans are the top-ranked defense through two weeks. On Sunday evening, another defense shined as the 49ers defense manhandled Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions’ high-powered offense in their 27-19 victory. More important for the 49ers, quarterback Alex Smith is showing through the first two games of the season that last year was not a fluke. It appears that Smith just needed the motivation from head coach Jim Harbaugh and some consistency within the coaching staff to bring out Smith’s talent. Smith, the #1 overall draft selection in 2005, is living up to his potential finally and doing so consistently. Meanwhile in Atlanta, Matt Ryan and the Falcons quietly are 2-0 with another dominant victory over an AFC West squad. The Falcons beat the Denver Broncos, 27-21, in a game that was not that close on Monday night. The Falcons defense intercepted Peyton Manning three times in the first quarter and set the tone for a game that was not the offensive display predicted.
Houston, San Francisco and Atlanta are not the only 2-0 teams in the NFL through Week 2. San Diego is 2-0 after a convincing win over Tennessee. Meanwhile, both Arizona and Philadelphia are also 2-0 in the NFC despite ugly wins in their respective games. Arizona scored the upset of the weekend with a 20-18 victory over the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, defenses continue to pound Michael Vick like Rihanna after burning Chris Brown’s dinner but the Eagles are still winning with their come from behind victory over the Baltimore Ravens, 24-23.
The league is really showing the parity within the teams early this season as 20 teams are at 1-1. Among the 1-1 squads, the entire AFC East and NFC North divisions are at .500. Rookie quarterbacks Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson have the Colts, Redskins, and Seahawks at 1-1. Along with Washington, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are 1-1 in the NFC East. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati are all at 1-1 in the AFC North while Carolina and Tampa Bay are both 1-1 in the NFC South. Of the few teams to start out the season at 0-2, the New Orleans Saints have many (including yours truly) questioning how important Sean Payton truly was to the Saints with their stumbles out of the gates.
After Week 2, I still believe it is too early to throw in the towel on a season for any team (unless you are the Cleveland Browns, in which case you should have given up in June). However, it is the time to start waving the caution flag around certain teams. Two weeks of regular season action is more than enough time to get a grasp of certain teams can do. Teams like 1-1 Baltimore, Denver, New England, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and the New York Giants will be fine. I even believe the 0-2 Saints will recover from this slow start. However, I think a few teams are in trouble already. The offensive lines of both Philadelphia and Chicago are going to damage their seasons as Michael Vick and Jay Cutler respectively cannot survive a full season’s worth of punishment like what they have received over the first two games. The Dallas Cowboys are back to their inconsistent ways, as shown by their loss to Seattle, while the first rough outing for Mark Sanchez in New York has led to the rumblings for Tim Tebow we all knew would come. None of these clubs have their seasons doomed yet but the lack of optimism from fans can be quite justified.
Who’s Hot: Eli Manning rebounded from three interceptions to pass for 510 yards with three touchdowns in the Giants 41-34 win over the Buccaneers… Reggie Bush ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s 35-13 win over Oakland… Clay Matthews sacked Jay Cutler 3.5 times in Green Bay’s win over Chicago… Vernon Davis caught two touchdowns and did not embarrass himself with another failed goalpost dunk in the 49ers 27-19 win over Detroit… The Atlanta Falcons secondary picked off Peyton Manning three times in the first quarter during the Falcons’ 27-21 win over the Broncos.
Who’s Not: Jay Cutler went 11 of 27 for 126 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in Chicago’s loss to Green Bay… The Dallas Cowboys, as a whole, stunk to high Heaven in their 27-7 loss to Seattle… Chris Johnson, three seasons removed from his 2,000-yard season, rushed for 17 yards in Tennessee’s 38-10 loss to San Diego… Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Morgan’s stupid personal foul set the Redskins back 15 yards on their final drive and ultimately cost them as Washington lost to St Louis, 31-28, on a missed field goal... Stephen Gotkowski was more Shank-kowski as his missed 42-yard field goal caused New England to lose to Arizona, 20-18.
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